ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined – Stephen Fry

On the Road: American Adventures from Nixon to Trump – James Naughtie Humankind: A Hopeful History – Rutger Bregman

Over the last two months I have been reading a lot of poetry. Having discovered Zoom, I have had weekly poetry meetings with four friends: we’ve all chosen poems and then discussed them at length. The hours have shot past. As for private reading, I found Stephen Fry’s forays into Greek myths to be, as one might expect, lively and very readable. His Heroes portrays the lives of

Heracles and others in a colourful and imaginative way. Fry is a great guide, and this is one of those books where you can just hear the author’s voice as you read it. If you find it hard to remember which Greek god did what, this sparkling treatment is the answer.

Two other books published during the pandemic deal with more contemporary issues. James Naughtie’s

On the Road, American Adventures from Nixon to Trump is a journey with one of our very greatest broadcasters through the strange terrain of American politics. This must surely be one of the most interesting books of the year, and there are enough anecdotes here to enliven any period of seclusion.

And finally, a book that brings a message that needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Rutger Bregman’s Humankind tackles the issue of what we really are like – at heart.

Are we a competitive and violent species, or are we instinctively pro-social and collaborative? This is a great statement of optimism, full of fascinating examples of research that reveals the better side of human nature.

One of the conclusions suggested by the author is that William Golding’s Lord of the Flies got it all wrong. Young boys marooned on a desert island would not become savage, but would actually be rather well-behaved. Good.

Alexander McCall Smith’s most recent novel, The Second Worst Restaurant in France, was published in June 2020 by Polygon.